Book Five: Revenge of the Face Stealer
by danzilla3
Summary: The key to finding Zuko's mother may be hidden in a terrifying nightmare. When all clues point to her presence in the Spirit World, the Avatar and his friends set out to find a way to travel there, but what will they find when they arrive?
1. Chapter 1

Hello once more dear readers, and welcome to Book 5: Revenge Of The Face Stealer! As you've probably already guessed, Koh will play a large roll in this book. Other favorite characters will also make appearances, and my grammar will be consistent all the way through! Also, this book takes place six months after Book 4, so if you want to fully understand whats going on, read that first. So now without further ado, lets get started!

Disclaimer : I do not own ATLA, and M. Night Shamwow can go fuck himself!

* * *

"Zuko wake up!"

His eyes snapped open as he was shaken from his nightmare, and back into reality. The first thing he noticed was the feel of the cold, hard wood of his desk pressing against his face. He must have fallen asleep in his office again. Then he registered his wife's hands gripping his shoulders so tightly that he thought she might leave puncture wounds.

Zuko sat up in his chair and turned to look at his wife. He felt a pang of guilt as he saw the concerned expression on her face, and looked back down at the desk. The only thing worse than the dream itself was the guilt he felt afterwords for upsetting her.

Mai didn't try to make him look at her. She knew that made him uncomfortable when he had just awoken from the dream. Instead she moved around behind the chair, and draped her arms around his neck.

She didn't have to ask but she did anyway, more out of routine by this point then genuine curiosity, "The dream again?"

She felt him tense slightly at the mention of it, and squeezed him gently in her arms. Relaxing a bit, he clasped one of her hands and sighed, nodding in affirmation.

"It's been a month now," he said ruefully, "I thought that it would have stopped by now." He looked up at her and said, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," she said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. After all it wasn't like he hadn't tried everything he could to make it stop.

He'd taken powerful medicines that should have put him into a sleep too deep for dreams. When that failed, they had waterbenders use their powers to soothe him as he slept. Both those treatments had exacerbated the problem by making it even harder for him to wake up.

When all else had failed he tried the one thing he'd been saving as an absolute last resort: therapy. They'd brought in the best therapists from around the Fire Nation, each of them one of the best in their field. Zuko had gone along with it amicably. He'd barred his soul, dredging up painful memories he never wanted to remember in the hopes that it would provide some relief.

But nothing worked.

She considered bringing up the subject of asking Uncle for help, but thought better of it. It was obvious that he was already thinking about it. He kept insisting that he shouldn't bother Iroh with his problems, and she kept reminding him that the old man would never be "bothered" to help his nephew.

The sun was beginning to rise, and the light was starting to illuminate the dark room through the large window behind them. Mai asked the question she already knew the answer to.

"Want to go back to bed?" As expected he shook his head, gently removing himself from her arms as he stood up.

"No. I should start getting ready. She'll be waking up any time now."

* * *

The prison tower stood tall and foreboding even from a distance, Fire Lord Zuko thought to himself as his ostrich horse drawn carriage neared the crater in which the tower was located. The road became rougher as they neared the rim but that didn't surprise him. The entire area had once been a giant lava pool back when the capital city itself was still an active volcano.

The tower blocked out the sun as the carriage drew close, casting an ominous shadow over any visitors. It was a good representation of what was to come once inside, as the prison only held the most prized and feared criminals the Fire Nation had to offer. Including the previous Fire Lord.

But that wasn't who he was here to see today. Zuko hadn't talked to his father in weeks, not after what the man had said last time. As soon as he figured out how desperately the boy wanted to find his mother, he has used the knowledge to taunt him every chance he got. Zuko had finally gotten fed up with the whole thing, and decided to just let his father rot where he was for a while.

No, today he was here to see another member of his family.

Azula had been shipped off to a mental health facility on a nearby island after her breakdown following their Agni Kai on the day of the Comet. For three months she had screamed, and yelled, and raged, and sobbed. She had badly injured ten of the facility's staff before Zuko had consented to having her put in full body restraints. Even then she had managed to hurt two more people when she chewed through the muzzle they had put on her.

Then one day she just stopped. The guards had been worried when her cell had just gone quite. When they opened the door they thought it might be a trap, but it wasn't. She didn't even move. She stayed so still that they brought the prison doctor in to make sure she was still alive. From that day on she had barely made a sound. It was like she had poured out all of her repressed emotions, and simply had nothing left in her.

Zuko had been visiting her through it all. She had screamed at him, wept at him, begged him for her freedom. Yet to him his sister seemed worse than ever now. Azula had always been defiant, never bowing to anyone for any reason. At least back when she was still ranting and raving at him he could still see a little bit of the old Azula. Now it was apparent that she was just a hollow shell of the person she once was.

The carriage stopped about twenty feet of the tower, as was protocol to make it harder for a any prisoners to use the vehicle to escape. After Zuko got out, the driver whipped the ostrich horses and made a u turn to go back the way they had just came. It would only return when the signal was given that the Fire Lord was ready to leave.

Memories crept unbidden into his mind as Zuko walked toward the tower. He remembered his late night visits to this place, back when his uncle had been imprisoned here. Shame welled up in him at the thoughts of what he had said to the old man. Of course Iroh had already forgiven him long ago, but Zuko still couldn't help the regret that he felt over the incident.

The two guards at the entrance bowed to him and stepped aside. Metal ground on metal as the gigantic double doors to the prison slowly opened to reveal the warden of the prison waiting for Zuko. He was an older man, almost as old as Iroh. Instead of the normal armor worn by the guards, Warden Ching dressed in the deep crimson robes of Fire Nation nobility.

The Warden bowed deeply to Zuko before speaking, "Fire Lord Zuko, it is good to see you again."

Zuko bowed slightly in return, and gave a small smile, "It's nice to see you again too Warden Ching."

Ching had been hand picked by Zuko to run the prison after his coronation as Fire Lord. The old Warden had been a sadist, who had believed heavily in the use of torture on his prisoners. Zuko had of course known about his practices, but had been previously unable to do anything about it. Besides, the man had been smart enough to keep his hands off his uncle, so he had been forced to look the other way.

There had been many candidates for the position, but Zuko had known that Ching was the right person for the job as soon as he'd read his file. Prior to his current job, Ching had been in charge of the largest Fire Nation prison in the Earth Kingdom. Though he was charged with making his prisoners suffer for their alleged crimes against the Fire Nation, he had done just the opposite, forbidding any abuse or neglect from taking place, and transferring out any staff he caught violating his rules. Under his rule all prisoners were treated humanely, and after the war, he had released all of them with his apologies for their detainment.

With the pleasantries exchanged, the two men began to make their way through the prison. The walls of the structure where made of metal six inches thick, with torches spaced every five feet to light the way. The floor was made of a highly heat resistant stone that had been brought over from the Earth Kingdom. Built into the walls were the thick metal doors of the prison cells. Particularly dangerous criminals were kept in 8 x 10 iron bar cages inside of their cells.

As they came to the spiral staircase that led higher into the tower Zuko asked the same thing he always did, "Has there been any change?"

The warden shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid not."

Though he had been expecting that answer, Zuko was still saddened by it. The pair continued to ascend the stairs in silence until they reached the top floor. They passed by multiple cells until they reached the end of the corridor. Two guards stood in front of the large iron door, each holding a rod with a rectangular prong at the end. With Ching's approval the guards matched the prongs with the appropriate slots on the door and gave a twist. With a groan the door opened onto a small room containing four more guards, each standing in a corner of the room. Imbedded in the far wall was another metal door similar to the countless others throughout the prison.

Zuko and Ching stopped here, and the two guards on the far corners of the room approached them and, with apologies to their superiors, patted them down for weapons or anything that could conceivably be used as a weapon. Satisfied that their search had turned up nothing, the guards mentioned for the pair to move back a few feet as they prepared to open the door. The two guards in the back of the room moved up in front of Zuko and Ching to cover the door, as the two other guards opened it.

The heavy door swung inward and made visible the inside of the next room. However instead of more guards, this time there was a table and two chairs in the center of the room, each bolted to the floor.. In one of the chairs sat a figure held in a straight jacket, with multiple chains anchoring her to the floor. Zuko sat down in the chair across from the figure, who did not look up at her visitor.

"Hi Azula," spoke Zuko. She didn't look up at him, but her eyes flickered with recognition at the sound of his voice. Zuko motioned for the guards to leave, and only spoke again when the door had closed.

"So... how are you doing?" he asked, intentionally leaving himself open to a sarcastic retort which never came. "I'm sorry it's been so long since I last visited. I've been really busy for the past few months."

He regaled her with the tale of the incident at Inferno Island. About how a former student of their uncle's tried to assassinate him in the palace. About how they had found out that the Avatar was not the last airbender, and that they had just barely saved the Earth King from assassination. None of this produced any kind of reaction from his sister.

He tried switching tactics by talking about what her friends were up to. "Ty Lee is doing well. She's still helping the Kyoshi Warriors with moving the old colonies out of the Earth Kingdom." When she once again failed to reply he continued, "Mai is doing good too. She's sort of become the ambassador to the Earth Kingdom, so she travels a lot."

Azula still said nothing, and Zuko sighed. Ching was right, nothing had changed since his last visit. Feeling desperate, he decided to talk about the only other thing that he could think of at the moment.

"I've been having trouble sleeping lately," he tossed out, "Ever since the incident at that island that I told you about." She seemed to tense up a bit, and Zuko wondered if he should keep going. Deciding that any reaction, even a bad one, would be better than silence he continued, "I keep having this weird dream. I'm standing in the courtyard that we used to play in as kids. As I'm wondering whats going on, I here someone whispering my name. Eventually I realize its coming from the pond and I walk over there. Then I get pulled in by these black hands, and just when I think I'm going to drown I see..."

"Mom."

He stopped mid sentence, unable to believe what he had just heard, "What did you say?"

She looked up at him, and he almost winced. She was the picture of mental and physical exhaustion. Her skin had paled to an almost gray, and the bags under her golden eyes drove home how tired she must have been.

"Azula..." he began, but she cut him off.

"She's trapped. Still living, but surrounded by the dead. She calls out to us, pulling us beneath the surface and we struggle to hear her, before..."

"Before what?" he was almost pleading with her, "Before what Azula?"

"The faceless." she whispered.

"What?"

"THE FACELESS!" she screamed. She was struggling against her restraints, the fabric of the straight jacket beginning to blacken. She lunged forward at Zuko, spewing flames from her mouth and sobbing uncontrollably. He deflected the bursts of blue flame, as she burst from her burning restraints. She jumped across the table, knocking him out of his chair and onto the floor. The siblings wrestled for control, with Zuko eventually gaining the upper hand and pinning her to the floor. When he looked down at her she screamed, "She will join the faceless!"

Zuko wanted to ask what she meant, but he saw her inhale deeply and knew what was coming. He did the same and both siblings unleashed a torrent of flames from their mouths. The control for this move was crucial he thought, especially know. If he used too little, or too much the results would be horrifying. Knowing that this stalemate couldn't last much longer, he reluctantly punched her in the stomach cutting short her flames. He stopped his own stream just before it could reach her face.

Azula coughed and shook violently, and Zuko worried that he had hit her too hard. Finally she looked at him, meeting his gaze for a moment before starting to sob softly. He scooped her into his arms and hugged her tightly against him, tears flowing from his eyes now as well. She awkwardly returned the embrace as she continued to weep.

The guards burst through the door, but Zuko halted them. He cradled his sister for almost an hour before she stopped crying and he reluctantly allowed her to be taken back to her cell. He told the guards to signal his carriage as he strode back down the stairs.

That he and his sister were both having the same dream was more than a coincidence. What it meant he couldn't figure out, but he knew of one person who would.

* * *

"Thank you sir, please sit anywhere."

Xu rattled off the standard line he use for every customer that came into the Jasmine Dragon as he took the mans order. He watched as the man chose one of the many polished hardwood tables at which to wait for his tea. The customer had chosen a nice ginger tea that Xu himself favored over many of their other blends. Allowing himself to slip into thought for a moment Xu reflected on how he had gone from firebending warrior, to tea slinging waiter.

After his trial, he had been honorably discharged from the Fire Nation Army. Having nowhere to go, and only one marketable skill, he had briefly thought about entering the mercenary business. That idea never got past the planning stages though. Besides the fact that he was still recovering from battle wounds at the time, he found that he couldn't get the disappointed faces of his new friends out of his mind when he thought about it. Anyway he had tired of killing, and knew that he would have had to do a lot of that if he went down that path.

For a time he had found gainful employment at a blacksmiths shop in the outer ring, but that hadn't lasted long. The owners daughter had taken a liking to him, which was fine until the man walked in on her showing Xu her...affection. He had then chased Xu around the shop with still glowing sword, which he had taken in stride until the man had clipped him in the shoulder with the thing. He'd promptly disarmed the angry parent, relieving him of three of his teeth in the process. Those and the half forged blade were the only severance he'd gotten from the man.

Once again on the search for work, he'd found a job helping to fix buildings damaged in the retaking of Ba Sing Se a year earlier. That had gone smoothly for about a week, until one of his fellow workmen caught him using firebending to heat his lunch. The disgruntled worker was apparently still holding a grudge over his house being burned down in the cities initial capture, and had tried to work some of his frustration out on Xu. That hadn't worked out for either of them, as at the end of the fight the worker was being carried off by his buddies, and Xu was being fired by the foreman.

He had taken several other jobs which he had proceeded to loose in much the same manner as the first two. Violence just seemed to follow him from job to job, and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't seem to avoid it. Maybe he was subconsciously looking for fights he'd thought one time as he was holding a coworkers head underwater. He had dismissed that line of reasoning during another fight in which a colleague had found himself bolted to a wall.

One night as he was headed to the shelter after a particularly lively workplace brawl, he had found General Iroh waiting for him. His old teacher had offered to take him out to dinner, which he had gratefully accepted. Over the course of the meal Iroh had mentioned that he was in need of tea servers, and had offered Xu the job if he wanted it. Not wanting to impose on the old man, but having no other options, he had said yes and had been working at the Dragon ever since.

"Hello? Can I place my order now?" Xu was jolted from his thoughts by the irritated voice of Ms. Lao, one of the regulars who came in every morning. Realizing that he had been reminiscing longer than he'd thought he gave the woman his best smile.

"My apologies Ms. Lao," he said with as much fake sincerity as he could muster. He had never really liked the middle aged woman. She had been shrill and rude to him ever since she had somehow found out that he had was a firebender. He cut her some slack though, as she had been widowed during the war. He knew how it felt to lose someone you loved, and for all he knew he could have been her husbands killer, so he tried to fake as much kindness as possible when he talked to her.

"Are you done daydreaming yet?" she said coldly, "I'd like to order."

"Of course," replied Xu, wearing a smile so tight it threatened to tear his face in half, "What will it be today?"

She thought about this for a moment, running her hand through her neck length gray hair as she did so. Though he wasn't fond of her, Xu had to admit that Lao didn't look to bad for a women pushing fifty. She was in great shape, and nothing was sagging yet. Not many wrinkles either, and she had beautiful green eyes. Unfortunately, while he didn't discriminate when it came to age he just couldn't get past the shrew like exterior. And he had a feeling that Iroh liked her anyway.

"I'll have-" she was interrupted by a large BANG noise coming from the back room.

Trying his best to ignore it Xu asked, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said, I'll have the-" BANG! Another loud crash from the kitchen area, this one punctuated with a string of curse words.

"Sorry what?"

"What's going on in there?" asked Lao.

"I assure you Ms. Lao, everything...is...fine..." Xu found that his assurances rang hollow as black smoke began to billow from the kitchen.

"One moment."

He turned on his heel and walked into the kitchen, grating his teeth in frustration. The source of the smoke and noise turned out to be coming from Gao, who had apparently dropped two trays full of what may once have been pastries. Now however they were little more than lumps of charcoal.

"Gao what the good bloody hell are you playing at in here?" he yelled at the other firebender.

"Damn fruit thingies got burned all to hell," growled Gao.

"The fruit tarts?" asked Xu incredulously, "Their only supposed to bake for fifteen minutes, how long did you have them in the oven?"

"I dunno...when did we open?"

"You can't be serious."

"Hey it ain't my fault," snarled Gao, "Heng usually makes the damn tarts."

"Speaking of, where is that bald lightning rod?" Xu looked around at the empty kitchen and asked, "And the rest of our AWOL employees?"

Gao shrugged, "Heng's getting the last of his bolts taken out today, Zhang is out getting ingredients, and Toph..."

Xu went rigid at the mention of the blind earthbender, "What about Toph?"

Gao looked down at his feet, "I promised I wouldn't tell you."

"Well I promise to make you eat every single one of those damn tarts if you don't spill it right now." snapped Xu.

"She's out back flirting with the delivery boy."

Xu growled and started to move toward the back door but was slowed by Gao, "Hey come on now Xu. She's fourteen. It's only natural that she's starting to take notice of boys. Besides I like this Wong kid, he seems nice-"

"Do I have to tart you?" asked Xu.

"-But he's obviously just a walking hormone storm, and must be stopped at once."

Xu picked up his pace. Toph had arrived at the Dragon at about the same time his comrades from Inferno Island had been assigned to work their on probation. She had run away when her parents had tried to force an arranged marriage on her. Iroh had taken her in, and given her a job as a waitress. In the off hours he had placed the young earthbender in his care. They had become quite close, with him thinking of her like a little sister and becoming fiercely protective of her.

He didn't immediately see them when he stepped through the back door, but he heard giggling coming from the around the corner of the building. He motioned to Gao to be quiet as they moved to the corner. They peaked around the corner and found Wong leaning against the wall with his back to them. The benders could now here snippets of the conversation between the two adolescents.

"Your such a liar!" Toph said, giggling and blushing in a very uncharacteristic way.

"Why Ms. Bei Fong I would never dream of lying to you," spoke Wong, "You are by far the prettiest girl in the Inner Ring, no, all of Ba Sing Se! Your the perfect specimen of blossoming womanhood."

Xu chose this moment to step around the corner. Toph frowned as she finally sensed his presence, but that didn't stop him from putting a hand on the boys shoulder and saying quite menacingly, "If you want to keep your manhood, you'll get out of here right now."

Wong turned around with a look of sheer terror on his face. He was about Toph's height, with black hair and brown eyes that were staring at him in horror. "Mr. Xu, Mr. Gao! H-How are you today?"

"Boy do you not realize that I represent a clear and present danger to your continued existence on this earth?" asked Xu coolly.

"I-I'm well aware of that sir," stuttered Wong.

"Then what the hell are you still doing here?"

"Just leaving sir!" yelped Wong before running off as fast as his feet could carry him.

Toph crossed her arms and fixed Xu's general direction with a glare that could wither plant life.

"Thanks a lot Xu, now Wong will probably never talk to me again."

"I knew there was a reason I got up this morning," Xu quipped. He turned to walk away, but Toph stomped her foot and he smacked into an earth wall. He rubbed his nose as he stumbled backward. Then he looked back at Toph with mild irritation, "Now cut that out."

"Why don't _you_ cut it out?" yelled Toph, "This makes the fourth boy you've scared away this week!"

"Trust me, I'm doing you a favor," replied the firebender, "Boys his age have only one thing on their minds when they talk to girls."

"How do you know he's doesn't just wanna be friends?" asked Toph.

"Because I've been a fourteenyear old boy. They get excited reaching into their pockets for change."

"Well if you don't cut it out I'm gonna have to kick your butt!" yelled Toph, putting her hands on her hips.

Xu chuckled, "Your gonna kick my butt huh? I doubt it."

Toph bristled, "Why?"

"You've gotten soft bandit," he replied, refering to her using her nickname, "You didn't even sense me until I was right on top of you. The way you are now, I could beat you in five minutes.

Toph screamed in frustration. She stomped down on the ground once more and produced a good sized boulder. She punched it, and it flew into Xu, sending him through the wall she'd created. He rolled a couple feet, and then got up and dusted himself off.

"Alright then," he lowered himself into a fighting stance, "Let's do this."

Gao sighed and took a few steps back. He knew how this went. The two weren't really trying to hurt each other. This was just how they warriors blew off steam. He said over his shoulder, "Make it quick guys, we're on the clock."

"Like I said, five minutes," smirked Xu.

"More like five seconds," said Toph, wearing a smirk of her own now.

"You guys mind holding off on that for just a bit?" came a voice from down the alley. The two fighters looked and saw a smiling Zuko, standing in the entrance to the alley.

"Sparky!" Toph ran to Zuko and embraced her old friend. Xu didn't go for a hug, instead offering his hand to the Fire Lord.

"Nice to see you again prince," said Xu, grinning widely. The two shook hands, and Zuko replied.

"It's great to see you guys too," he said warmly.

Toph released him from the embrace and smiled up at him, "What are you doing all the way in Ba Sing Se Sparky?"

"Yeah, I thought for sure you'd have important things to deal with back in the Homeland, what with the near breakout of war and everything," added Xu.

Zuko's expression turned serious as he spoke, "Actually, I'm here to talk to my uncle."

Zuko's firsts thoughts upon entering the Jasmine Dragon was that the place had come a long way since the last time he'd been here. Granted the last time he'd been here was after the war, but it was almost totally different. Instead of being almost empty the tea shop was now operating at full capacity, with customers sitting around every one of the twenty or so polished hardwood tables. He noticed the stone floor that had been here previously had been replaced with bamboo panels. The cream colored walls where now adorned with beautiful portraits of landscapes both near and far.

Behind the counter was his Uncle, wearing a green and gold over shirt on top of a brown robe. The old man wore a huge smile as he took orders, and told new arrivals that they would have to take their tea on the front patio. Zuko smiled at the sight of his Uncle looking so happy. He almost turned and walked out, not wanting to bother the old man.

Xu however didn't give him the chance, "Oi, General! Look who's here!"

Iroh looked over at them and smiled even wider. He politely excused himself from the counter and made his way through the throngs of customers to embrace his nephew.

"Prince Zuko! It is wonderful to see you again!"

Zuko returned the hug, "It's great so see you again too uncle."

After a few moments Iroh released his nephew and addressed his three employees standing behind him.

"Where were you three?" asked the old firebender, "I heard a commotion, and came down to find my employees were nowhere to be found."

Xu bowed in apology, "Sorry General, I had an urgent matter to attend to outside."

"What kind of matter?" asked Iroh quizzically.

"There were delivery boys what needed threatening," deadpanned Gao. The remark got him a slap to the back of the head from Xu.

Iroh frowned, "Xu, how many times must I tell you? You can't intimidate Toph's suitors."

Xu avoided his old masters gaze and muttered, "Seems to me that I can..."

The old man walked forward and put his hands on his students shoulders, "I know that you only have her best interests at heart, but every flower must blossom some time."

Toph blushed at the comment. Xu however couldn't contain his snark, "It's not the flower I'm worried about, It's the bee's."

Iroh chuckled, "I understand. Why don't the three of you attend to the customers while my nephew and I catch up."

"No problem, lets go flower," he looked over at Gao, "You too scrub."

"Don't call me that!" yelled the two benders in unison.

"Yeah, yeah."

Iroh shook his head and motioned for his nephew to follow him. They ascended a small staircase and found themselves in brightly lit corridor with one door at the end of it. Iroh led Zuko through the door and into a beautifully furnished office. Unlike the parlor below, walls of the office where luxurious wood paneling, with portraits of the old mans family hung up on them. The wooden floor was covered up by a large throw rug that had once been some kind of animal. The large oak desk was the center piece of the room. Iroh motioned for Zuko to sit in one of the three chairs in front of the desk before speaking.

"So tell me nephew, what brings you to my humble tea shop?" asked Iroh, "News of grandchildren perhaps?"

Zuko blushed, "Not yet uncle..."

"Ah very well," Iroh leaned back in his chair, "Then perhaps about the nightmare that has been vexing you?"

Zuko was surprised for exactly one second before he figured it out, "Mai told you?"

Iroh nodded, "I received a letter from her just the other day. She is quite concerned about you. You are lucky to have such a caring wife."

Zuko nodded in agreement, " Yes I am."

Iroh smiled, but his expression quickly turned serious again, "As I understand it, you are having nightmares about your mother correct?"

Zuko nodded, "That's right. Ever since Inferno Island, I've been having the same dream."

Iroh stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Tell me as much as you can about the dream."

Zuko told the old man everything he could remember. About being in the courtyard he'd played in as a child. About the wind that turned his clothes to ash, and the voice that beckoned him closer and closer to the pond. About being pulled in and seeing the mother he'd thought dead for so long.

At the end of the story Iroh replied only with a quiet, "I see..."

But Zuko wasn't quite finished, "There's one more thing uncle."

Iroh looked up at his nephew, "Yes?"

"It's about Azula..."

Iroh leaned forward, "Go on."

Zuko sighed, "She's been having the dream too."

Iroh's eyes widened, and he turned white in shock. He leaned back in his chair and Zuko thought he saw tears in the old mans eyes.

"Whats wrong uncle?" asked Zuko, dread welling up inside him.

"I...I am sorry Zuko."

"Why? Why are you sorry?"

Iroh looked down, a single tear rolling down his face and to the floor, "Your mother is..."

"She's what?" Zuko sprang out of his chair and stood ramrod straight, "What?

"Your mother is dead."

What does it all mean? The true meaning of the nightmare next chapter.


	2. Authors Note

Hello everybody! It's been a long time since I last updated this thing hasn't it? Well sorry to dissapoint anybody who was looking forward to the second chapter of this thing, but I have a small announcement

to make.

First off, no I am not going to stop writing, and this story will continue. I am however putting book 5 on hold for a little while as I go back and rewrite some parts of the previous story, Book 4.

There are two reasons for this. One, some of the early chapters have serious grammatical errors that I feel have gone too long without being corrected. The second is that I feel that certain parts of the story could have been writen better than they were. There are also some subplots that weren't handled very well, and I would like to change those bits before I move forward to another story.

Again, I will continue Book 5. I'm just putting it on hold for a while. I hope that you will check out Book 4 occasionally to see what's changed. Thank you to all who read this, and everything else I write.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everybody! Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this thing huh? Well I won't bore you with the details, but I took so long because I was trying to figure out what to do with this story, and how I could make it better. So with my standard plea for reviews, lets begin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

"Your mother is dead."

The words hit Zuko like a slap in the face. His mother was dead? Of all the things he thought he might hear from his uncle, he never thought that would be one one of them.

"What?"

"I am truly sorry Zuko."

The room was completely silent for a few minutes. Then Zuko spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"How could you know that?"

"Zuko..."

"How could you possibly know that?" Zuko's initial surprise was quickly turning to anger. He stood up out of his chair, and approached his uncle.

"You say she's dead? Where is your proof" asked Zuko, "What proof do you have that she's dead?"

"Your dream," replied Iroh in a soothing tone of voice.

"It's just a stupid dream!" yelled Zuko, "It doesn't mean anything!"

"If you truly believed that, then you would not be here," said Iroh.

"She's not dead!" roared Zuko, "Your wrong! She's not dead!"

By now Zuko was sweating profusely. His chest heaved as he tried to breathe, but no matter how he tried it seemed like he couldn't get enough air. The boy looked as though he might break down at any second. Iroh needed to calm him down quickly or else risk his nephews mental collapse.

"Do you remember Lu Ten?" asked Iroh.

Zuko looked up at his uncle, and tried to focus on the question, "Your son? What does he have to do with any of this?"

"After Lu Ten died, I began to have dreams very similar to the one's that you are describing."

Zuko's breathing had become steadier as he listened to his uncle, "Is that why you..."

"Yes. That was when I decided to go to the spirit world, to find my son."

The room was once again very quiet. Zuko didn't want to believe what he was hearing. He wanted to write it all of as just a bad dream, but it was to late to do that now. He had already come this far to find out what the dream meant. As much as it hurt him to even consider the possibility, Iroh's evidence was quite compelling. From the evidence in front of him he could only conclude one thing.

His mother was dead. But maybe there was a way to be certain.

"Tell me how you got to the spirit world," asked Zuko.

Iroh looked at his nephew for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and said, "No."

Zuko flinched at the firmness of his uncles words, "No?"

"No. I will not tell you how to enter the spirit world."

What is the reason behind Iroh's refusal? Find out next chapter. Sorry this one was so short. I'm a little rusty at this since I've been out of practice for a while. Anyway, please review. Also check out our page on Tv tropes. com.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again readers! So it looks like for now I'm going to be updating on weekends. I may do a few updates during the rest of the week, but that will likely only last until I have to go back to class. Also, thanks to Great Fire Lord Zuko For the review. To answer your question, some people still call Zuko "Prince" because it's the way their used to thinking of him. Anyway, lets get this thing started.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

"Your not going to tell me how to get to the spirit world?" asked Zuko.

"No Zuko. I cannot give you that information." said Iroh.

"Why not?" asked Zuko, "And don't say because it's dangerous, because I don't care."

"You only say that because you don't know what waits for you on the other side," said Iroh.

"Then make me understand uncle."

Iroh sighed, and got up out of his chair. He turned to look out the window and said, "In the spirit world there are...things. Horrible things, like nothing man has ever even contemplated in their darkest dreams. Creatures older than the mind can fathom, and powerful beyond mortal comprehension."

Iroh turned to face his nephew once more, "It is not a place for the living Zuko."

"But that doesn't make sense!" said Zuko, "Aang says that the spirit world is a peaceful place. He said there were dangerous things here, but that he's only ever met one. That doesn't sound at all like what your describing!"

Iroh stroked his ching in thought, "I see. I suppose it's possible that the spirit world is experienced differently by each individual. Or perhaps the method of entry I used to get there attracts the beings I described."

"What method?" asked Zuko, "How did you get there?"

Iroh shook his head, "I am sorry Zuko. I cannot tell you."

"Why not?" cried Zuko, "You went there, and despite all the things you just said, you came out alright."

Iroh looked down at the floor and mumbled, "Yes, I came back. But not without scars."

"Look at me uncle," Zuko gestured to the burn marks above his right eye, "Does it look like I care about scars?"

"I'm not talking about wounds of the body Zuko."

"Well I've got plenty of the other kind too," said Zuko.

"And that's why I can't tell you," said Iroh, "You've got too many scars already. Going to the spirit world...It could break you."

Zuko thought about that for a minute. Then he shook his head, "It doesn't matter. I have to know."

"Isn't my word enough?" asked Iroh.

"For anything else it would be," said Zuko, "But not for this."

Zuko turned to walk out, but he was stopped by Iroh, "Where are you going?"

Zuko didn't even turn around when he answered, "I understand if you can't tell me how to get there uncle, but I will find a way to go to the spirit world."

"Zuko please, don't go," pleaded Iroh.

"I'm sorry uncle," said Zuko. Then he walked out.

Downstairs Zuko found the trio of Toph, Xu, and Gao waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Is everything alright Zuko?" asked Toph in an unusually serious tone.

Zuko smiled at his friends, "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"We heard yelling from upstairs," said Xu, "Is anything wrong?"

"No, me and uncle just got into an argument, that's all."

"You want some tea, or maybe a slightly burned fruit tart," asked Gao.

"No thanks, I'm afraid I have to get going."

"But you just got here," pouted Toph, "Where are you going?"

"To the north pole," said Zuko, "I need to speak with Aang."

"I'll come with you then," said Toph.

"Hey, don't just say your going to cut work right in front of me," said Xu.

"I'm not ditching work, I'm just taking a vacation."

Zuko shook his head, "Thanks for the offer Toph, but this is something I need to do alone."

"But-" Toph began to speak but was cut off by Xu putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We understand. Be safe prince."

An awkward silence ensued for a few minutes, before Zuko left the kitchen and walked out of the shop.

Toph scowled at Xu, "What the hell was that for? Something's obviously wrong with him, and you just let him go?"

"Fighting with him was going to get us nowhere," said Xu.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" demanded Toph.

"Just wait here for a minute while I go talk to Iroh, okay?"

"Pfft, yeah right" muttered Toph.

Xu kneeled down and put both hand's on the girls shoulders, "I mean it Toph. Don't do anything until I know whats going on."

Toph looked at him sightlessly for a moment, "Alright."

Xu nodded and then started up the stairs. He knocked gently on the door. When no answer came from his employer, he opened the door and walked in to find his boss sitting deflatedly at his desk.

"Is everything alright General?"

Iroh looked up at Xu and sighed, "Zuko wants to go to the spirit world.

Xu's face went pale and he stood ramrod straight, "What?"

"I wouldn't tell him how to get there, so now he's trying to find his own way there," continued Iroh.

"Why the hell didn't you stop him?"

Iroh's eyes narrowed, "I tried to dissuade him from his course of action. What more could I have done? Should I have physically restrained him?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Xu, "If even half of the things you said about that place are true then yes, you should have stopped him!"

"And then?" asked Iroh, "Should I have tied him up? Thrown him in the basement until he saw reason?"

"Alright, so there were no good options," conceded Xu, "So what do we do now?"

Iroh was quiet for a long time. Then he said, "I have a favor to ask of you."

Zuko walked along the bustling streets of Ba Sing Se lost in thought. Mostly he thought about his mother, endlessly wondering if she was really dead. He didn't know what he'd do if that turned out to be the truth. He'd spent most of his life wondering what had happened to his mother. When his father told him that she had been banished, that sparked the hope that she was still alive, and that he could still find her. But if she was dead...

Zuko shook his head. He couldn't allow himself to think that way. She had never given up on him, and he wouldn't give up on her either.

Zuko was snapped out of his thought by a voice calling out to him, "Zuko!"

The Fire Lord turned around to see Toph, and Xu running toward him. When they caught up, he asked them, "What are you doing here?"

"We're coming with you," said Toph, "You know, for support and stuff."

"Well that's what she's doing here," Said Xu, "I'm here to see if there's anyway to talk you out of the suicidal path you've put yourself on."

Zuko shook his head, "I appreciate the concern, but you can't talk me out of this."

Xu sighed, "Yeah I didn't really think that I could."

"Then why are you here?" asked Zuko.

"Your uncle called in a favor. He wants me to stop you from looking for a way into the spirit world."

"I thought you said you knew you couldn't stop me."

"I said I was here to stop you from searching," said Xu.

"What do you mean?"

Xu looked Zuko right in the eyes, "I'm here to tell you how to get to the spirit world."

What is the secret to entering the spirit world? Keep reading to find out! Please review.


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